Attic spaces in buildings, such as residential buildings, require ventilation. Often the attic space needs to be ventilated to prevent the buildup of moisture or the like. There are many types of active and passive ventilation devices for ventilating such attic spaces of such buildings. Roof vents may be placed in an opening in a roof to permit air to pass out from beneath the roof through the roof vent to the outside. The roof vent may be passive, having no moving parts, or, it may be an active vent including fans, ventilators or the like.
One form of vent that has been found to be particularly effective is a ridge vent. Hot air rises relative to cold air. An opening provided along a ridge or peak of a building provides an opportunity for hot air to escape from the top of an enclosed space, ensuring a full circulation of air through the space. However, an open ridge permits rain, snow and pests to enter into the space. Therefore, some means is required to cover the ridge opening. Many types of ridge vents have been proposed in the past. While having certain advantages, they also have disadvantages by being expensive, awkward to use or install and having uncertain effectiveness in drawing air out of the building enclosure.
One example of a prior ridge vent is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,227,963 and 6,371,847 to Headrick. In these patents, a ridge vent is shown with an upstanding wind baffle formed at the outer edge of the vent to create turbulence to draw air through the grills of the vent. The grills are on a side surface, and face an upstanding baffle, forming a trough therebetween. In colder climates, where precipitation can freeze in the form of snow or ice, such a trough is not practical, as it can fill up with snow or ice thereby blocking the vents and causing a failure in air circulation. Therefore, some other configuration of elements is required.
What is required is an improved ridge vent to facilitate drawing air from within the building enclosure to an outside of the enclosure, which works in northern and southern climates.